Deals: Page 6
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Immune reset
Merck bets $700M on an antibody drug’s potential in immune diseases
The deal hands Merck a cancer medicine already in human testing, but that the company sees as a potential treatment for autoimmune conditions, too.
By Ben Fidler • Aug. 9, 2024 -
Emerging biotech
With pharma in ‘catbird seat,’ biotechs get less upfront in drug partnerships
Recent data from J.P. Morgan indicates early-stage startups are getting smaller upfront payments in alliances than a few years ago, a trend industry insiders attribute to weaker leverage in deal talks.
By Gwendolyn Wu • Aug. 9, 2024 -
Recursion to absorb Exscientia in ‘techbio’ deal
The two AI drug discovery firms, which have each lost most of their value since going public, believe their complementary skills can better speed the development of new medicines.
By Kristin Jensen • Aug. 8, 2024 -
Boehringer adds to cancer drug pipeline with deal for startup Nerio
The pharma company will pay up to $1.3 billion to acquire San Diego-based Nerio and its research into novel immune checkpoint inhibitors.
By Ned Pagliarulo • July 29, 2024 -
Private biotech M&A surges amid difficult IPO market
Private biotech company acquisitions are on their fastest pace in years, a trend some in the industry say is driven by the abundance of mature, but not yet public, drug startups.
By Gwendolyn Wu • July 22, 2024 -
Boehringer cuts price of Humira biosimilar in bid to build use
The German drugmaker will offer a 92% discount on a copycat version of Humira for people who pay cash for the drug through GoodRx.
By Jonathan Gardner • July 18, 2024 -
Cardurion raises another $260M to fuel heart drug pipeline
The financing, which ranks as one of the year’s larger private rounds, will help the startup advance a pair of drugs and potentially acquire other medicines.
By Jonathan Gardner • July 16, 2024 -
Sionna revives AbbVie’s cystic fibrosis drugs, eyeing a shot at Vertex
The startup says drugs AbbVie abandoned last year could form a combination regimen with “superior efficacy” to Vertex’s market-leading medicines.
By Ben Fidler • July 16, 2024 -
Lilly to buy Morphic in $3B bet on inflammation drug
The deal would hand Lilly an experimental pill that could one day rival Takeda's blockbuster medicine Entyvio as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease.
By Jacob Bell • July 8, 2024 -
Eli Lilly inks another radiopharma deal, gaining option to buy startup
Under an arrangement with Radionetics, Lilly will have rights to acquire the San Diego biotechnology company for $1 billion.
By Delilah Alvarado • July 1, 2024 -
Eisai and Bristol Myers cancel cancer ADC deal
The Japan-based drugmaker said its U.S. partner’s “portfolio prioritization efforts” led to the termination. It will refund part of an upfront payment.
By Jonathan Gardner • July 1, 2024 -
AbbVie expands its IBD prospects with $250M Celsius deal
The pharma’s acquisition of Celsius is the latest in a string of deals by major drugmakers hunting anti-inflammatory medicines.
By Gwendolyn Wu • June 27, 2024 -
AbbVie joins in latest gastrointestinal drug chase
Following Roche, Merck and others into a hot field, the Humira maker will pay $150 million to license a preclinical TL1A antibody for IBD.
By Jonathan Gardner • June 14, 2024 -
Seres, indebted and in need of cash, agrees to sell microbiome pill to Nestle
Seres did not disclose financial details for the deal, but said it would help extend the company's cash runway by one year.
By Kristin Jensen • June 6, 2024 -
Merck to buy eye drug developer for $1.3B
An acquisition of EyeBio will hand Merck a treatment for diabetic macular edema and age-related macular degeneration that’s ready for pivotal testing.
By Kristin Jensen • May 29, 2024 -
Agios cashes in on cancer drug again with $905M Royalty Pharma deal
The deal involves royalties for a brain cancer drug Agios previously sold off and that Royalty Pharma thinks could generate more than $1 billion in U.S. sales.
By Delilah Alvarado • May 28, 2024 -
J&J gains another bispecific antibody with $1.25B skin drug buy
The deal is J&J’s second this month involving bispecific antibodies, which the company has prioritized to build its immune and cancer drug pipeline.
By Ben Fidler • May 28, 2024 -
Orna, a circular RNA specialist, acquires a buzzy startup
After laying off staff late last year, Orna is expanding through the purchase of ReNAgade Therapeutics, which was built around technology designed to more effectively deliver RNA-based medicines.
By Jacob Bell • May 23, 2024 -
Merck KGaA to buy gene therapy tools maker for $600M
The German drugmaker is bolstering its MilliporeSigma business with a unit of Gamma Biosciences that specializes in so-called transfection reagents.
By Kristin Jensen • May 23, 2024 -
J&J to buy Proteologix and its dual-targeting antibody drugs for $850M
The deal is part of a plan by J&J to build a portfolio of “differentiated” bispecific antibodies, an increasingly popular area of drug development.
By Kristin Jensen • May 16, 2024 -
Takeda nabs option to license Alzheimer’s immunotherapies from AC Immune
The deal — worth $100 million up front and potentially billions more later on — gives Takeda an exclusive option to license an Alzheimer’s vaccine and other “active immunotherapies.”
By Jacob Bell • May 13, 2024 -
Sanofi gambles $80M on Fulcrum’s muscular dystrophy drug
The deal gives the pharma partial rights to a medicine GSK once developed for heart disease but could soon become the first therapy for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
By Jonathan Gardner • May 13, 2024 -
Maze lands new partner for Pompe drug, after Sanofi pact came apart
An alliance with Shionogi involves similar terms as a deal Sanofi canceled in response to an unusual challenge from the Federal Trade Commission.
By Ben Fidler • May 10, 2024 -
Royalty Pharma pays startup $525M for stake in Sanofi MS drug
The deal gives the company milestone payments and royalties to a medicine, frexalimab, that Sanofi licensed from biotech ImmuNext and expects to be a future blockbuster.
By Kristin Jensen • May 9, 2024 -
Novo taps another Flagship startup in search for next obesity drugs
The deal with Metaphore Biotechnologies is the third from a Flagship alliance meant to boost the Danish drugmaker’s pipeline of weight loss medicines.
By Gwendolyn Wu • May 9, 2024